Machine for carving designs in pile fabrics



MACHIINE FOR CARVING DESIGNS IN PILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 19, 1956 y 1960 c. A. BRYANT ETAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 s m e f 0 H 5 WW M m .6 mCmm 5 HAM 00M m May 10, 1960 V c BRYANT ETAL 2,935,778

MACHINE FOR CARVING DESIGNS IN FILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/GZ W //V//// ///////IV///// /nven/0rs Oils 6- Payne GA/d/ne Bryan,

By l/Ye/r attorneys May 10, 1960 A. BRYANT ETAL 2,935,778

MACHINE FOR CARVING DESIGNS IN PILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 19, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 lnven/ors /0//3 6f Payne 6. A/d/he Bryn/7f By Meir aflomeys M M United tastes atent MACHINE FOR. CARVING". DESIGNS? PILE; FABRICS Clilford AJdine Bryant and Otis c; Payne, Dalton, Ga, assignors. to Cabin Crafts, Inc.,,Daltorr, Gen, a corporattion of Georgia Application'December 19,,1956, SerialNo. 629,341

reclaims; Cl: 261-16).

This inventionrelates to a' machine for carving designs into'the pile offtuftedl rugs or other pile fabrics to give a patterned relief effect. More particularly, the invention relates to such machines for. carvingintricate and unique designs. individually by hand'rnanipulation of" the fabric, to give a custom-made appearance. Efforts. to accomplish the objects,v and achieve the ad'- vantages of. thisinvention. have. eluded workers in the art for a long time. Means. for. carving designs in; rugs heretoforev have been liinited to repeat. designs in which the same design was repeated over, and over inthe whole surface of the rug. Such. machines, besides being. expen sive, did not allow the. operator latitude to. express his individual. creative. ability or to follow a. novel, unique and individual designlaidoutupon. the fabric. Custom carving wasimpossible. Closely spaced andintricatepatterns. weredifficult, if not.impossible,.to make, exceptin some cases by time consuming: repetitive runs. of the fabric through-.themachine.

It. is an object of this invention toprovide a machine. for carving designs in the pile of rugs. or fabrics by manualmanipulation of, the rug or fabric in order to give a hand-carved pattern and also to permit intricate and individual patterns, having linesclose spaced if desired, to be carved.

Another object is to provide a machine for accomplishing the foregoing objects in which the feed of the material and the carving are synchronous, being under control of the operator.

, Another object is to provide a machine for accomplishingthe foregoing objectshaving adjustable means to guide the fabricand control-the width of cut.

Another object is to provide av machine. for accomplishing the: foregoing objects which may be easily made and kept in repair.

Other objects and advantages will. appear as the invention. is. described in. connection with the accompanying drawings.

in thedrawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation view of, a machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation view, partly in section and partlybroken away, of the machine of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the operati-ng parts which are under the table in the machine of Figs. 1' and 2, with portions of. the table and frame broken away;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the feeding, cutting and guide elements partly in elevation and partly in section.

Fig; 5 is a detail view of the guide element removed from the machine.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of another form of chain take-up arrangement.

Referring to the drawings, the feedingand feed control mechanisms are located beneath a fiat table 10 over which the rug or other pile fabric is moved by the operator. Beneath the surface of the table, a flat feed-wheel-supporting member or .leverlZi is pivotally mounted at one end on a pin or axle 14' in bushingsor bearings 15 which; are secured to the underside of the table. 0n the other end=ofthe lever 12, a feedwheel 16 is mounted beneath an aperture or opening in the table. Thefeed wheel may have a knurled peripheral surface or have a series of small pins sticking radially from its periphery in order'to' feed the rug over the table when the wheel is, elevated tocause a portion of its periphery to extend'through the aperture or opening in the table. By reason of the pivotal. mounting on axle 1'4 ofthe lever upon which the wheel 16 is mounted, it is possible to raise and lower the wheel: by means hereinafter described.

For the purpose of driving the wheel'1'6, a sprocket. 18 is mounted upon the same shaft 19' as the wheel 16. A chain 20 is. trained over the. sprocket 18 and around a. driving sprocket 22 mounted upon a fixed drive shaft 26.

Inord'er to take up the slack and, keep the chain tight, the, chain is trained. over a. take-up sprocket 24 mounted. on. an axle 32 in a lever 34" which extends downwardly from the underside of the table. The upper end of take- -up..lever 34 is pivotally mounted upon a horizontal pin 36 inabearing bracket 38. secured to the underside ofthe. table. To impose tension on the chain 20, a coiled tension spring 40-is secured atone end to the lever 34' and at its other end to a dependent side wall 13 of the table. The. provision of the-take-up mechanism is both advantageous. and necessary. It enablesv the drive wheel to be. raised and lowered while. the driving connections are maintained. It. is necessary in order to provide the necessary freedom of movement of the driving connections during such raising and lowering. V

In order that the operator may control the raising and lowering of the drive wheel 16, an air cylinder 44 is provided having a piston rod 42, extending from one end and pivotally connected through a link 46 with the drivewheel-supporting lever 12. The air cylinder 44. is supported by a metal bracket 48 which is attached to the inner surface of a side wall 17 depending from the table it opposite to the side Wall 13.

Control of the movement of the piston 43 within. the. air cylinder 44 is by a valve 50 attached to the sidewall 17 of the table. An air hose 5-2 from a suitable com.- pressed air supply (not shown) is connected to the intake port of valve 50. The exit port of valve 50 is connected with the air cylinder 44 by a suitable hose connection 49. The valve is operated by movement of a pivotal valve rod 54 on an operating shaft 55- extending from the valve 50 andpivotally connected to the upper end of a connecting bar or link 56 whose other or lower end may be connected to a common pivoted treadle 53, as shown, or to a. kneeoperated lever (not shown) such as are commonly used on sewing machines. When the operator places his foot upon the treadle and tilts it or presses the knee lever, the connecting link 56 moves the valve lever 54 down to open the valve.

The piston within the air cylinder 44 preferably is spring pressed toward one end (the bottom end as viewed in the drawings) to hold the wheel 16 normally in retracted position beneath the surface of the table.

Since the valve 50 and the air cylinder 44 are parts which may be purchased upon the open marketand are of conventional, known construction, their interior structure is not shown in detail and need not be, specifically described.

Opening and closing of the valve causes movement of the piston 42 to raise or lower the feed wheel 16 by-pivotal action of the feed-wheel-supporting member 12; the raising being by air pressure and the loweringby spring pressure or gravity, or both. v

When the feed wheel is raised, it crimps the fabric and causes a hump or ridge in the pile and backing, as may be observed from Fig. 4. In order to cut the pile on this ridge, a shearing machine with a rotary blade 60 is mounted above the drive wheel 16 in position to shear olf or cut the pile in the small area of the ridge or hump. Thus, as the fabric is fed by the operator, the shearing may take place within the limited area or line upon which the shearing blade operates.

The shearing machine may be a small portable rotaryblade type of machine which can be purchased upon the open market. It has a horizontal rotor with spiralled cutting blades accessible through a lengthwise slot in a. cylindrical protective housing. The shearing machine is mounted upon the lower end of a vertical mounting plate or arm 62 which depends from a horizontal overhanging frame arm 64 of conventional form spaced above the surface of the table.

Converging guide fingers 66 to help guide the fabric and control the width of the out are formed upon a bracket 68 screwed upon the housing of the shearing machine. The fingers are positioned on opposite sides of the drive wheel 16 in angularly converging positions. These fingers may be in the form of flat webs or wingshaped pieces formed integrally on the horizontal portion of the bracket which is screwed to the cutter housing exterior, so as to be easily substituted or replaced by a bracket having fingers more widely or more narrowly spaced.

To draw off the pile cuttings, a vacuum hose 96 having its mouth adjacent the rotary cutter may be provided.

The machine may be conveniently driven by an electric motor 70 mounted upon a vertical post or frame member 72 from which the overhanging arm 64 extends. The drive shaft of the motor and an extension 73 thereof may extend parallel above the arm 64 and be supported in hearings in brackets 74 supported in spaced relation on the arm 64. A chain or belt 77 is trained around a sprocket or wheel 76 on the end of the drive shaft extension 73 and around a sprocket or wheel 78 on a shaft extending from the rotary-blade shearing machine.

The motor 70 may also drive the feed wheel by a chain or belt 80 trained around a sprocket or wheel 82 on the other end of the motor shaft extension 73. The chain is also trained around a sprocket or wheel 84 on a shaft 86 extending from a speed reaching gear box 88 attached to the frame of the machine. Another chain 89 trained around a sprocket or Wheel 91 on a horizontal shaft extending from the speed reducer is also trained around a sprocket or wheel 95 beneath the table and on the drive shaft.

Although the drive shaft may be directly driven, it is preferable to be able to stop the feed wheel when the rug is being inserted and when coming to the end of a carved line in the design and at other times. For those purposes, the drive shaft may be in two sections 26, 26' with a clutch between them designated generally by numeral 90 (Fig. 3). The clutch may be of any combrackets 38a and 38b. Coiled tension springs 40a and 40b secured to the lower ends of the levers 34a, 34b, impose tension upon the chain 20 substantially symmetrically with reference to the sprocket 18' on the shaft 19 of the feed wheel 16'. The shaft 19, the sprocket 18 and the feed wheel 16' are mounted upon one end of a lever 12' similar to that in the previously described form and pivot about a fixed pivot 14' in a bracket 15. The chain is driven by a drive sprocket 22' on a drive shaft section 26.

As will be noted from Fig. 6, the pivots 36a, 36b are substantially symmetrically mounted with respect to the feed wheel shaft 19'. The levers 34a, 3412 being of the same shape and sprockets 24a, 24b being of the same size, the feed wheel may move up and down without being caused to rotate to any practical or noticeable extent.

Frim the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention provides a simple mechanism for custom carving of individual unique and intricate designs in the surface of pile fabrics such as tufted rugs and the like. By manipulation of the rug as it passes over the feed wheel, the operator can easily control the contour or patterns of the cut. He can easily control the length or extent of the cut he desires to make by movement of the foot treadle which simultaneously stops the feeding of the fabric and the cutting due to the fact that the feed wheel drops beneath the surface of the table and disengages the fabric while at the same time falling away from the rotary cutter so that the cutting ceases at the same time as the feeding. The feed may also be stopped by releasing the clutch engagement.

It will also be apparent that the structure of the machine lends itself readily to economical manufacture. Moreover, it is easy to operate and can easily be kept in repair. The rotary cutter can be removed from above the table without dificulty for servicing or repair; and, also, the feeding mechanism is readily available beneath the table.

Many modifications within the scope of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific form and detail illustrated and described. In the appended claims, wherever reference is made to a sprocket and chain connection, such reference is intended to include equivalents such as a pulley and belt connection and the like, also.

mon commercially available form. For illustration, a

slidable face member 92 rotating with shaft section 26 may be engaged with a face member 94 rotating with a power driven shaft section 26'. The slidable member may be moved by a lever 96 pivotally mounted on a supporting arm 98 by a pin 97 passing through both. The supporting arm may be attached to the table 10 or some part thereof in any convenient fashion. The lever 96 is preferably treadle-operated, but may alternatively be operated by a conventional knee-operated lever as used on sewing machines.

Fig. 6 illustrates another form of driving mechanism for the feed wheel. In this figure, corresponding reference numerals with a prime or letter added thereto illustrate parts corresponding or similar to parts in the previously described form.

In the previous form, when the feed wheel is raised while not rotating it tends to rotate through a small angle What is claimed is:

1. A machine for cutting designs in pile, comprising a table having an aperture, a rotating feed wheel normally located beneath said aperture, means to raise said wheel to project a portion of its periphery through said aperture, the projecting of said wheel causing a ridge in said pile while said wheel remains raised, a rotating cutter above said table positioned to cut the pile from said ridge as the pile is fed thereunder by said wheel.

2. A machine for cutting designs in pile, comprising a table having an aperture, a feed wheel beneath said aperture, means to raise said wheel to project a portion of its periphery through said aperture, the projecting of said wheel causing temporarily a ridge in said pile, a rotating cutter above said table positioned to cut the pile from said ridge as the pile is fed under the cutter by said wheel, and driving means for said wheel having a flexible connection to said wheel to maintain the driving connection during raising and lowering of the wheel.

3. A machine for cutting designs in pile as claimed in claim 2 wherein the flexible connection comprises a rotary driven member, a rotary driving member and a rotary take-up member around which is entrained a power transmitting member, whereby raising and lowering movement of the feed wheel is permitted by said take-up member while driving of the feed wheel continues.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the flexible connection comprises a driven sprocket, a driving sprocket, a take-up sprocket and a chain trained around said sprockets, and means biasing said take-up sprocket to maintain said chain tight when said feed wheel is raised and lowered.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the takeup sprocket is mounted on a pivotally movable member, and said biasing means comprises a spring connected to said pivotally movable member.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1 having leg-operated means to control the wheel-raising means.

7. A machine as'claimed in claim 6 wherein the wheel raising means includes a power operated piston-andpiston-rod means whose operation is controlled by said leg-operated means.

8. A machine as claimedin claim 2 having leg-operated means to control the wheel-raising means.

9. A machine as claimedin claim -8 wherein the wheel raising means includes .a power operated piston-andpiston-rod means whose operation is controlled by said leg-operated means.

10. A machine for cutting designs in pile as claimed in claim 2 wherein the flexible connection comprises a rotary driven member, a rotary driving member and a rotary take-up member around which is entrained a power transmitting member, whereby raising and lowering movement of the feed wheel is permitted by said take-up member while driving of the feed wheel continues, and leg-operated means to control the wheel-raising means.

11. A machine for cutting designs in the pile of rugs and other pile-surface articles, comprising a table over the surface of which the article to be cut is movable, said table having an aperture, a rotary wheel movable into said aperture to project a portion of its periphery above the upper surface of the table and retractable in said aperture to withdraw the wheel from said projecting position, means to raise said wheel into said projecting position to cause temporarily a ridge in the article on the table, and means to lower said wheel into said withdrawn position, and a rotating cutter above said table positioned to cut pile from said ridge as the pile is fed under said cutter by said wheel.

12. A machine for cutting designs in the pile of rugs and other pile-surface articles, comprising a table over the surface of which the article to be cut is movable, said table having an aperture, a rotary wheel movable in said aperture to project a portion of its periphery above the upper surface of the table and retractable into said aperture to Withdraw the wheel from said projecting position, means to raise said wheel into said projecting position to cause temporarily a ridge in thearticle on the table, means to lower said wheel into said withdrawn position, a rotating cutter above said table positioned to cut pile from said ridge as the pile is fed under said cutter by said wheel, and leg operated means controlling the operation of said raising and lowering means.

13. A machine for cutting designs in the pile of rugs and other pile-surface articles, comprising a table over the surface of which the article to be cut is movable, said table having an aperture, a rotary wheel movable in said aperture to project a portion of its periphery above the upper surface of the table and retractable into said aperture to withdraw the wheel from said projecting position, means to raise said wheel into. said projecting position to cause temporarily a ridge in the article on the table, means to lower said wheel into said withdrawn position, a rotating cutter above said table position to cut pile from said ridge as the pile is fed under said cutter by said wheel, a motor and reduction gearing connected to said wheel to drive the latter at reduced speed, and means connecting said motor to said cutter to drive the cutter at high speed.

14. A machine for cutting designs in the pile of rugs and other pile-surface articles, comprising a table over the surface of which the article to be cut is movable, said table having an aperture, a rotary wheel, means supporting said wheel for movement in said aperture to project a portion of its periphery above the upper surface of the table and for retraction into said aperture to withdraw the wheel from said projecting position, means to raise said wheel into said projecting position to cause temporarily a ridge in the article on the table, means to lower said wheel into said withdrawn position, a rotating cutter above said table positioned to cut pile from said ridge as the pile is fed under said cutter by said wheel, a motor and reduction gearing, flexible means connecting said gearing to said wheel and maintaining said connection during said raising and lowering, and means connecting said motor to said cutter to drive the cutter at high speed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,046,963 Nelson July 7, 1936 

